I've been thinking about this; if I was to begin again or if I was a teacher (I'm not) I would spend the first 6-12 months strictly on dexterity and distinct sound production techniques - using only the bols 'Dha', 'Na' and 'te' or 'ti' - and all of their variations in fours, each variation being played repeatedly until it became second-nature; in both forward and reverse and in both Delhi and Purab styles. After sufficient clarity was achieved in each variation, the bols 'Dhin' and 'Tin' would be sustituted for 'Dha' and 'Na' or combined.

Surojeet, the power should definitely come from the fingers. In fact that's true of both drums:you should be able to play a nice strong "na" on the dayan without moving your wrist hardly at all. If you try and get power from the wrist of your dayan hand or the shoulder on the bayan side (like I did! ) you will have to backtrack and fix your technique later (like I did! ).

Thanks for your list of begining exercise. I would like to ask two clarifications. I will really appreciate if you take time to understand my questions clearly and answer them as these little uncertainities give much confusions.

1. te when used as a single, will it come out like Ti (closed sound played by middle finger on syahi in dayan) so "te Dha te Dha" it will be played same as in Dha Ti Dha Ti Dha Dha Tin Naor is something else?

2. But the same te te when comes in double should be played as Ti Ta (Index finger on dayan syahi followed by middle finger on dayan syahi)so Dha te te Dha should be practiced same as inDha Dha Ti TaDha Dha Tin Na.or is it different.

Thanks for your list of begining exercise. I would like to ask two clarifications. I will really appreciate if you take time to understand my questions clearly and answer them as these little uncertainities give much confusions.

1. te when used as a single, will it come out like Ti (closed sound played by middle finger on syahi in dayan) so "te Dha te Dha" it will be played same as in Dha Ti Dha Ti Dha Dha Tin Naor is something else?

2. But the same te te when comes in double should be played as Ti Ta (Index finger on dayan syahi followed by middle finger on dayan syahi)so Dha te te Dha should be practiced same as inDha Dha Ti TaDha Dha Tin Na.or is it different.

Thanks in advance

Anahad,

Depending upon style, individual preference, sound production, and versatility there are several methods or techniques for playing 'te', 'ti', 're' or 'tet' - all of these methods or styles are valid. The two most common methods are "Delhi style" using only the index and middle fingers, - and "Purab" style which employs the index finger and alternatively the middle and ring fingers played together as one. Played consecutively as 'tete', or 'tite', both of these styles may also be played additionally 'forward' - index finger last, and 'reverse' - index finger first. While these two styles were once more or less gharana-exclusive, it is my observation that currently most of the best artists are well-versed in both methods or styles. My opinion is that every method has a distinct sound quality and not every method is 100% efficient all of the time. I've seen good artists change thier fingering style to suit difficult variations in the same kaida. (The great Anokehlal could play almost any composition clearly in drut laya using only his index finger.) It is common for most beginner students to disregard the practice of playing 'tete' (or tite) - it's a "no-brainer". Not true. 'Tete' should be practiced as much as 'na' or 'tin' to achieve clarity, strength, and precise tempo. Each stroke should hit directly in the center of the shayhi and sound deliberate. The primary reason to be versatile in both forward and reverse methods of playing 'tete' in either Delhi or Purab styles is that much depends on where the fingers need to be in order to be in an efficient position to strike the next bol, say, 'na' as in "tete tedha" , "tete dhati" or "dhatete dhetete" - without falling over each other. Only after many years of concentrated practice will the fingers place themselves intuitively to suit the intended composition or phrase. Slow, even tempo is another important factor in practicing 'tete'. Like ear training, keeping an even tempo is not an inherent talent - it must be practiced, and he best way to do that is with a metronome, or better, a nagma or lehera machine. If you cannot learn to play 'tete' with clarity, evenness and distinction, then 'tirekita' will also suffer.

I should also add that all of these statements are only my personal observations and should no way taken to contradict your teacher's instructions.

(I realize this may not completely clear up your confusion but it will become clear with concetrated practice along with your teacher's guidance.)

sincerely,

Aanaddha__________________If he could sing, and nature to accompany him, what need would he have for an instrument?

I'm sorry Aanaddha, but with all due respect I have to disagree. You're right that there are all different styles of playing tete, but I think that for that particular kaida to retain its identity, it MUST be played with Delhi style tete. If you mix styles with that composition, the lesson is lost. It's not a question of efficiency; we both know that tabla is often not about efficiency, especially with kaidas. I believe every kaida is a lesson for the hand, and this one especially so. Reverse tete requires a completely different sort of hand balance, and it's not the one that this kaida is meant to teach.

Naturally we all seek our own style of playing, and if people want to play that kaida with reverse tete then naturally that's their choice, and I can't stop them (nor would I necessarily try, unless they were a student of mine). But my teacher always told me: learn to play it the way the old masters wanted it played, and THEN make alterations. But if, hypothetically, someone thought that playing a composition the old-fashioned way was too hard and changed it to make it easier, well, I think you'll agree with me that that's a problem.

So basically, my stance is this: if you're playing a composition from a particular gharana, play it with that gharana's style. For a purab kaida, play it Purab style. And for a Delhi kaida, play it Delhi style. This I think is the only way to discover and enjoy the subtle nuances of each particular lineage.

By the way, here's a good composition for reverse tete practice, in the form of Dhete. This one comes from Zakir. (I never formally learned this, but got it from recordings.)

Chaz,AanaddhaGuys thanks a lot for your valuable inputs. Actually about Ti Ta, I wrote it in reverse by mistake I meant it the standard way only. But as your informative discussion states at some stage I may have to learn it the other way round also ( Gee..j as if my troubles weren't enough already - just kidding).I am formatting all the 81 Aanadha's entry in gorups so that they are easier to remember. The first few are.Dha with one Na

Dear Chaz, Of course you're correct that traditional Delhi compositions should be performed in Delhi style and traditional Purab compositions should be performed in Purab style. But that doesn't mean you can't practice in only one style, nor would playing Delhi style prohibit you from employing two-finger reverse 'tete' (index first, then middle). I think there are quite a few variations of "Delhi" kaida that you would have difficulty playing in drut laya otherwise - e.g. var. - 'Dhate tete dhate dhadha tete dhaghe thuna ghena'. As for myself, my training was in Purab style almost exclusively - I have since been focusing more on Delhi syle (they both have their limitations, too) It's helped me clear up difficulties I'd always had with strength and clarity in 'terekita' passages because my middle fingers never had to perform independent of each other. My point is that there are many more compositions that a beginner will eventually learn that aren't necessarily 'traditional' or have a mixture of influence that will demand more dexterity than one style alone has to offer. Additionally, I believe a student who learns several procedures to the same end will have the advantage - his or her fingers will become both stronger individually and more fluid working together. As for your own own opinions I cannot argue - as I stated earlier you should follow your teacher's instructions.

Sincerely,A.__________________If he could sing, and nature to accompany him, what need would he have for an instrument?

Naturally you're right: these days especially you have to play all styles. Still, for the record, Delhi style finger presents me with no problem on that palta you mention: I guess it comes down to what each of us has practiced the most and is the most comfortable with. I don't suppose I can try and convince you why tete shouldn't be split into seperate bols in that kaida, can I? :wink:

Chaz, This is true, I think we are all strongest in that which we learn first - (which ought to be a warning to everyone of the dangers of learning from any source other than a good teacher.)

No, but go ahead anyway, I'm curious. Depending on how you choose to look at the kaida (3+3+2.... , or 2+2+2+2 ... none of the bols combinations in the variation are foreign to the theme.) In fact, I first learned the theme as 'Dhate / tedha / tete / dhadha ...' and later as 'Dhatete / dhatete / dhadha ... ' again, two very different approaches to the same composition and both IMHO equally valid.

A.__________________If he could sing, and nature to accompany him, what need would he have for an instrument?

yeah, let's go into this actually, because I think I'm looking at it in a different way. The way I visualize the composition is this:

Dha tete Dha tete DhaDha tete Dhaghe Tina Kena

In other words, I see tete as an indivisible bol in itself, regardless of the taal's subdivision or anything else. If you divide tete into seperate bols you inevitably start playing "Dhati Dhaghe Tina kena" which I don't think fits with the structure of this kaida. I guess, technically, you could say I subdivide this kaida as 3+3+4+2+2+2, but that's not really what I'm thinking in my head. But regardless of all that, I think you'll see that when you start making tete into "tetete" or "ti" the kaida begins to sound like a completely different kaida, and not itself anymore. Examine carefully the structures of the palta similar to the one you suggest, and the original kaida:

Dha tetete DhaDha tete Dhati Dhaghe tinakena

Dha tete Dha tete DhaDha tete Dhaghe tina kena

Can you see how, with that one change, the sound, rhythm, and mood of the kaida changes? In contrast, other changes to the theme structure that leave tete intact give us a very similar mood:

DhaDha tete Dha tete Dha tete Dhaghe tina kena

Dha tete DhaDha tete Dha tete Dhaghe tina kena

Doubling tete is naturally appropriate, and again leaves us with the same original structure, in that the body of the paltas each consist of different groupings of "dha" and "tete" with the original "dhaghe Tina Kena" cadence formula at the end:

tete tete Dha tete Dha tete Dhaghe tina kena

tete - Dha tete DhaDha tete Dhaghe tina Kena

tete Dha tete Dha tete tete Dhaghe tina kena

My basis for developing a kaida in this way is the same reason we accept these two kaidas to be similar yet different compositions:

Dha Dha ti Dha Dha Dha tin na

Dha Dha tete Dha Dha tin na

I'm sure you would agree that "tete" should not be introduced to the first kaida because it's not suggested in the original pattern. Likewise, even when technically the bol "ti" is being used in DhaDha tete, it's not grammatically correct to use it alone in that context because the focus of the kaida is on tete as a sequence.

If you listen to Zakirji play this kaida on "selects," You'll hear him play tete as a single bol throughout (excepting some playfulness at half-speed) without compromising the musicality or variation potential of the kaida. While perhaps not everyone would follow his example, I'm pleased that he sticks to tradition because this is a very Delhi way of thinking about Kaida. The rules are perhaps different elsewhere.

So there you have it: that's my kaida philosophy. :-) This...erm, might be a little much for a thread on beginner tabla, huh? ops:

Insert Photos

Web address (URL)

Image URL

If your URL is correct, you'll see an image preview here. Large images may take a few minutes to appear.
Remember: Using others' images on the web without their permission may be bad manners, or worse, copyright infringement.